We will join community leaders from across Hawaii on Oahu and Maui to share stories from the frontlines of a global movement to empower community food systems. From Hawaii to India, these stories capture the importance of home rule in the future of food. Together, we rise. Please join us.

More than anywhere else, counties in Hawaii should have the right and
authority to determine the future of their food system. This is home
rule. Hawaii is home to untold biodiversity and some of the most
beautiful landscapes on Earth. However, it is also ground zero for the
outdoor experimentation of pesticide-promoting plant technologies,
genetically engineered to withstand heavy spraying of toxic chemicals.

On
Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Molokai, chemical and biotechnology companies
like Monsanto, Syngenta, Dupont, Dow Chemical, Bayer, and BASF have
purchased prime agricultural land, taking advantage of Hawaii’s
isolation and year-round growing season, in order to field test crops
that have been genetically engineered (GE) to withstand greater
applications of pesticides.

Despite public health
concerns and contamination of natural resources, the State of Hawaii
has taken no action to regulate the activities of biotechnology
companies performing open-air testing on genetically engineered seed
and synthetic pesticides.

As a result, Kauai, Maui and
Hawaii Counties asserted their county’s authority to create policies
that address these issues and protect the safety and health of its
residents and land. Otherwise known as “Home Rule,” Hawaii has shown
the world just how important this kind of political power is in the
movement to create more safe and sovereign food systems.

Video above: This January, Dr. Vandana Shiva, internationally acclaimed food sovereignty activist, author, and philosopher, will join community leaders from across Hawaii on Oahu and Maui to share stories from the frontlines of the global movement. From (http://youtu.be/fgF-NajbCH4).